Vehicles designed for more than eight passengers, as well as specially equipped mountain trucks, will be prohibited from driving in certain parts of downtown Reykjavík, beginning June 1, RÚV reports.
This ban goes further than the decision two years ago to close the Þingholt neighborhood in central Reykjavík to the traffic of large buses.
The area to be closed to large vehicles as of June one is shown on the map above. It reaches from Barónstígur in the east to Ægisgata in the west, and covers an area from Hverfisgata and Tryggvagata in the north to streets along the north and east sindes of the Reykjavík Pond in the south. Lækjargata will, however, remain open to such traffic.
Loading areas for buses will be added, so that 80 percent of accommodations will be within a 200 m (219 yd) distance of such an area.
Ideas for limiting the traffic of large vehicles originated with downtown residents.
The decision by the City of Reykjavík to limit the traffic of large vehicles downtown follows a trend in many countries all over the world, where city authorities have plans to substantially limit traffic in central areas.
